Del Mar Preview | Red Carpet Stakes 2023: Neige Blanche Returns To Race She Won 2 Years Ago

There’s an early post at Del Mar this coming Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. They’ll be off and running at 11 a.m. and finish up at 2:30 p.m. in plenty of time for folks to get home and have their turkey. The special card has become a tradition at the Bing Crosby Season meet, now in its 10th season.

The headline event for the eight-race card will be the 58th edition of the Red Carpet Stakes, a demanding 11-furlong testing on the lawn that has drawn eight fillies and mares. The Grade III feature carries a purse of $100,000 and will go off at approximately 1:30 p.m. as Race 6 on the program.

Topping the lineup is Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Sister Otoole, a now 6-year-old mare by the Irish sire Amira’s Prince.

The long-winded bay is not a stranger to Del Mar, having raced here three times previously.

She could only manage a fourth-place finish in last year’s Red Carpet, but also can boast of a pair of victories in the marathon CTT & TOC Stakes at the last two summer meets at the shore.

Trainer Graham Motion once again has given Antonio Fresu the call on Sister Otoole and they’ll break from Post 4 in the field.

Her chief rival in the Red Carpet is likely to be De Seroux, Naify or Powell’s Neige Blanche, a multiple-stakes winner of 10 races and more than $600,000 in purses.

The Leonard Powell-trained chestnut, a 6-year-old daughter of the Irish sire Anodin, won this same race in 2021, but didn’t run in it last year.

She’ll get regular rider Diegeo Herrera up as they come out of Post 6.

Here’s the full field for the stakes with riders from the rail out:

1. Little Red Feather Racing’s Oakhurst (Hector Berrios up)
2. Cronin, DiMarco or Mandara, et al’s Linda’s Gift (Tiago Pereira)
3. Michael House’s Musical Rhapsody (Mike Smith)
4. Sister Otoole
5. Atomic Racing’s With Love (Ricardo Gonzalez)
6. Neige Blanche
7. Katie Rich Stables’ Loved Reiko (Umberto Rispoli)
8. Next Wave Racing, Magnier, et al’s Symphony Perfect (Juan Hernandez)

The Red Carpet was formerly known as the Beverley Hills Handicap when it was run at Hollywood Park.

Following the Thursday card, Del Mar will race Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a first post of 12:30 p.m. on each of those days.